Willer's : Not your everyday sit-down dinner

Willer's Special Lechon Location :Gorordo Avenue, Lahug, Cebu City Tel # : Cuisine : Filipino Menu Price Range : Php 100-150 Service Charge: none Rating : ★★★★

If you're in Cebu and you're one of the braver souls, go venture into the world of street food. Cebu has plenty of those to offer with an ambiance charming as a bus station. If you dare, come dine in the streets where the Jeepneys rush pass and blow smoke in all their glory. Seat in the likes of wooden tables and mismatched stools, next to people in office uniforms eating dinner after a long day's work, or people who are just around the streets in their ratty shirts, shorts and slippers, eating with either their plastic-wrapped or cleanly soaped or not-so-clean hands.

This is the cheerful and yes, very real atmosphere of Willer's Special Lechon. Situated in the corner of Gorordo, Lahug. It may be in uptown but it caters to everybody. Introduced by my officemates who have ventured to Cebu before, I was brought here a year ago with skepticism of my eating-out habits.

Anyway, I was open to any food served to me as long as it is not exotic in my vocabulary, and this wasn't even exotic. This was real food. Real, glorious food.

No menu available since the items are WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), you'd see barbequed pork on sticks, chicken roasting on the winding grill and liempo (spareribs) crackling and spitting in the fire. Even the sign was crude and very, very simple. I was just there for the food, so let's not dwell on the other aspects shall we? :P

Willer's Roast Chicken
Price : Php 120
Rating : ★★★★★

Served hot, chopped, and on a cheerful plate, the chicken had a smell that could liven the senses, as deep inside the center is the core of the flavor, stuffed generously with lemongrass, onions, and all the secret spices and herbs that makes it a Willer's original. The meat was tender, and oh-so-juicy, even the breast part (which I detest for being dry) was soft and easy to chew. The herbs stay intact with the chicken, so you can also get them on your plate to savor the flavors even better. Match this with puso (see next item) with a dip of their pinakurat (see next item) and you'd be in heaven (from the taste and cholesterol) in no time.

Willer's Liempo
Price : Php 100
Rating : ★★★★★

Before you drink your apple-cider vinegar and high-blood pills, better save some more for Willer's Special Liempo. Seasoned spareribs cooked into a crackling crisp of flavors and fat. Please don't mind the dripping oil on the plate, because once you taste the the crispy skin together with the soft meat drenched in yet again, pinakurat or maybe not, you'll be reaching for your next chunk of liempo without realizing it. (and maybe ordering another puso).

Puso
Price : Php 5-10 (will have to verify)
Rating : ★★★

You will only see this in Cebu. So I would suggest you to try it. It's everywhere on the streets, and is the only type of rice served in Willer's. Woven leaves cover the sticky rice and is usually tied up in a bunch. It's not steaming hot, so it'd be best if the food together with it is. People who are new to eating puso would normally peel the wrapper which would give you some curious and amused looks, so search for the thin opening and break it open and eat it like bread. This is a nifty and ingenious way to stuff chicken with one hand and to stuff rice with the other. How can you go wrong with optimized eating? :D

Pinakurat
Price : Free
Rating : ★★★★

Only found in the Visayan province is the Pinakurat. The general dipping sauce for all foodstuffs in Willer's. A vinegar based concoction + all the secret ingredients + chillies. This is the key for stabilizing all the cholesterol induced foods and adding a little bit of extra to the flavor. Best mixed with soy sauce.



It's not everyday you get to experience dining like this, so it's a must-try. Nothing beats eating out in the open albeit dusty air. But if this type of place doesn't suit your fancy, but you're curious about the food, there's always the safer option : GO TAKEOUT :P.

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